Automobile direction signal



May 29, 1923.

G. W. MASON AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION SIGNAL Filed Feb. 11, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 &

INVENTOR ATTO RNEY WITNESSW'Q May 29, 1923. 1,457,260

G. w. MASON I AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION smug Filed Feb. '11. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 flu; I Geo. Mar o/ a (6040/ I WITN ESE- e ATTORIQEY May 29, 1923.

G. W. MASON AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION SIGNAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 11. 1922 fZVENTOR ATTORNEY G. W. MASON AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION SIGNAL May 29, 1923.

Filed Feb. 11 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY Patented May 29, 1923.

one r GEORGE w. MASON, or LIncoLN, NEBRASKA.-

eu'romonrnn nrnnorion SIGNAL.

' Application filed February 11,1922. Serial No. 535,844.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE Yl/ MASON, a citizen of the United States,resid1ng at Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and V automobile; the signal being illuminated by a single incandescent electric bulb and being adapted to illuminate a license tag, and the tail light being made to dlsappear when another signal is displayed with the result that the driver of a following car Wlll be put'on notice by the disappearance of the tail light and hence willlook for the slgnal to inform him what the driver of the leadin automobile intends to do.

To t e attainment of the foregoing, the invention consists in the improvement as hereinafter described and definitely claimed. In the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof-; 1 v a Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of so much of an automobile as is necessary to illustrate the locations of the direction signal, the control therefor, and the means connecting the direction signal and the control. 1 I Figures 2 to 9 are detail views illustrative of the control andparts thereof.

Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 are enlarged detail views illustrative of the automobile signal. a 7

Figures 14 and 15, respectively, are front views of the stop and left. signal plates. Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the 'views of the, drawings. 7

By particular reference to Figure 1 it will be understood that the control of my improvement is numbered 1, the direction signal is numbered 2, and means connecting the control and the direction signal is numbered 3. The control 1 is carried on the instrument board 4 of the automobile and intime and bolted at 7 to the'ins trument 'bo ard j'4. In the wall ,8 of the casing, which wall is preferably formed ofsheet'metal, is formed a plurality of, preferably four, slots 9. Within 'thecasing 5 are brackets 10, and journaled in the said brackets is a longitudinal central shaft 11. As best shownin Figure 3 the shaft 11 is valso provided witha j drive gear 13 that is fast'to the shaft, and wlth four levers 14 that are loose on the Pinned or otherwise fixed on the said'shaft 11 are lugs 15, said lugs being arranged in pairs, and the lugs of each pair being'arranged atoppositesides of one lever14.

shaft and are movable inthe said slots 9.

It will also be noted that the lugs 15 of i each' pair are connected by a cross pin 16.

springs 16" are interposed between the levels that is disposed under one of the levers 14 i as best appears in Figure 4. Retractile 14 and the casing portion 5 with aview to yieldingly holding the levers 14 against and returning said levers 14 to the upper ends of the slots 9. On thelevers 14 are buttons17 which bear appropriate inscrip-- the casing portion 5, and the said rock shaft 20 is equipped with a torsion spring 21 which has for its function to normally retain the keepers 19 in the position shown in Figure 4. The said shaft 20 is also equipped with a lever 22 Figure 5 which extends through an opening in the casing portion 5- andis designed to enable the driverto readily rock the shaft 20 against the action of the spring 21 and, thereby release'the catches18 from the-keeper's 19. The gear i 13 is ofinternal type and its teeth are intermeshed with as'pur gear 13 on a countershaft 13 which also carries'a sprocket gear 1 2 for a purpose hereinafter described.

' Carried by appropriate supports at the back of'the automobile and which supports i may be offany construction compatible with the purpose of my invention is a revolub'le I cylinder 30. In the longitudinal center .of

the said cylinder 30 is. arranged .an'incandescent electric lamp bulb"31, ;the filament of which is connectedwith conductors -32 i that lead through the tube 33 at one end; of n 80 tions such as .Left, Stop, Back and j time when the the cylinder and are designed to be connected with any appropriate source of electricenergy. The cylinder 30 is disposed in a cylindrical casing 30*, and one end of the said casing 30* is preferably detachable, 13. It will also be observed that the casing 30* is provided in its lower portion with a glazed opening Figure 13 so that the license tag b5 carried by the casing 30* willalways be illuminated in the night time. The red light 36 carried by the casing 30* at the end thereof shows at all times. The cylinder 30 is provided at 37 with a red tail light or dun l whicl'i shows at all times except du the short periods of signals are displayed. The cylinder arranged to turn through four-fifths oniyof its cicumference-i e., from the point 4-0 Figure 12 to the point 41 ofthe same figure. At 42 he cylinder is provided with a sprocket for the engagement of the chain 48 through which the cylinder is turned. The signal plates complementary to the cylinder are numbered 50, 51,. 52, 53, and 54 and the plate 50 which directly carries the red tail lirrht 3? is preferably of black metal. The s'gnals F1 to 5st are pereferably inscribed as illustrated: the plate 51 bearing: the word Left on glass, theplate bearing); the word Rite on glass, the plate 53 bearing the word Stop i red letters on glass, the plate 5% bearing the word Back in redletters on frostede'lass. I would also have it here understood t the plates 51, and are of frosted and that I prefer to have the words Left and Rite formed of black letters. The said plates are carried by holders 60 in the cylinder as appearscin lTi "e 12: the said holders being adapted'to rest between. and receive the longitudinal edges of the plates as best appears in Figure 12.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that my novel direction signal is materirly advantageous inasmuch embodies but a single incandescent electric lamp bulb; and it will also be apparent that the tical use of the direction signal the tail light is obscured only while another si is displayed. This is materially advantageous inasmuch as in the night time driver following a car equipped with my improv mentwould necessarily watch the tail 1' ht, and therefore when the rriver ot the car equipped with the improvement displays a signal, the rear driver will be immediately put on notice, and collision or other accident will be averted. It follows from the construction described that at no time is the novel signal dark, and that through the medium of the improvement and the manipulation of the control the driver is enabledtoindicate to a -following driver that he is going to stop or .to move .rearwardly or to turn to the left or to'turn to the right, as the case may be.

All of the signals are displayed through the opening 60 oft-he casing 30*, and hence wl n the cylinder 30 turned to carry the pl.v 5' out of coincidence with the opening 60 the red lens 87 will also be carried out of coincidence with the opening 60 and will be obscured.

F or the return of the cylinder 30ito normal position after movementand release thereof I provide the torsional spring 80, Figures 11 and 13.

In addition to the practical advantages ribed to my improvement it will be ap- 'eciated that the improvement is simple, expensive and compact in construction, that it is well adapted to withstand the rou 'h usage to which automobile appurices are ordinarily subjected.

l. have entered into detail description oi the construction and relative arrangement .55 parts embraced in the present and pre ierred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear and exact understanding of the said embodiment. I. do not desire, nowever, to be understood as confinmyself to the said specific construction an d relative arrangement of parts inasmuch as in the future practice of the invention various changes and modifications. may be made such as fall within the scope of.-In v invention defined inmy appended claims.

lilaving described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Pa'tent, is

1. .i-r directionsignal control including a casing, ashaft journaled in bearingsin the casing, a rock shaft journaled in bearings in the casingandequippedlwith resilient and beveled keepers, and also equipped with a handle operable without the casing, manually o aerable levers loose on the instill aimed shaft and extending without the casing and movable relative to the casing,.1ugs fixed to the first namedshaft andhaving portions opposed to and adapted to be, engaged by said levers, spring: means to return theleters to normal. position, a drive. gear. fast on I GEORGE w. MASON. 

